Killers in Kevlar

How many gun-toting criminals are wearing body armor? A Slate investigation.

Brian Murphy, a 51-year-old police lieutenant, was the first officer to arrive at the scene of the Sikh temple massacre in Oak Creek, Wis., on Aug. 5. He was tending to a victim when he looked up and saw the shooter, Wade Page, standing over him. According to police, Page shot Murphy eight to nine times at very close range. Yet Murphy is alive today, thanks to a ballistic vest.

Fifteen years ago, two bank robbers equipped with AK-47s, armor-piercing bullets, and 100-round clips fought off dozens of cops in North Hollywood, Calif. Both men wore Kevlar. One had a steel plate under his vest. The other had leg armor. Thirty-two officers returned fire. One later described hitting the robbers nine times without much effect. Eleven cops and six civilians were wounded in the 45-minute battle. After 27 shots to his limbs, buttocks, and neck, one robber finally went down. The other, after taking his 10th hit, killed himself. Bullets were later retrieved from their vests.

Advertisement

Three years ago, Jiverly Wong, an unemployed man angry at police, put on a ballistic vest, walked into an immigration center in Binghamton, N.Y., and shot 14 people to death. Then he took his own life, sparing police a firefight. The next day, Richard Poplawski, another cop-hater, girded himself in a vest—he called it his “suit for battle”—and ambushed police in Pittsburgh, Pa. The first cop at the scene died from a shot to the head. A second cop shot Poplawski in the chest but hit the vest, leaving only a bruise. That cost the officer his life. Poplawski gunned down him down, then blew away a third cop. Eventually, a sniper shot Poplawski’s assault rifle out of his hands. Again, a bullet was recovered from the vest.

Nobody knows how many crooks, lunatics, gangs, and militias have acquired body armor. There’s no registration or required background check. The federal government and most states—but not Colorado—have laws against possessing body armor if you’re a violent felon, or using it to commit a crime. But those laws are poorly enforced or tracked. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms says that in the past five years, it has arrested 20 people for violating the federal statute. The Drug Enforcement Administration doesn’t apply the statute. The FBI doesn’t keep records on it. Slate interns Krystal Bonner and Natasha Geiling contacted law enforcement authorities in 10 states seeking their arrest totals. Only three could supply data. Illinois reported 87 arrests since 2005. Florida reported 41 arrests since 2010. New York reported 176 arrests from 2007 to 2011.

In the incidents I located, vests weren’t always used against cops. Often they were worn during gunfights or other struggles between civilians. In five of these cases, the guy in the vest shot his adversary. In three cases, the adversary died. In 31 states, the search turned up incidents in which vests were worn or possessed by gang members or other crooks. Most commonly, vests were found with guns (often assault rifles), ammunition stockpiles, drugs, and lots of cash. Many cases involved silencers, bombs, or grenades. Some included helmets, telescopic rifle sights, sniper training manuals, or tear gas. Vests seem particularly popular among survivalists and drug dealers.